Filling machine



E. G. BAUER FILLING MACHINE Feb. 1, 1944.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1940 'F'IE'- l Ill] EDWARD G. BAUER Patented Feb. 1, 1944 FlLLING MACHINE Edward G. Bauer, Hoopeston, Ill., assignor to Food Machinery Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application July 25, 1940. Serial No.- 347,362

12 Claims.

This invention relatesto machines for filling containers, such as cans and jars, with food commodities, particularly cut vegetables, such as: sliced beets, cut string beans, diced beets, diced carrots, diced potatoes, mixed diced vegetables, shoe string beans, shoe string carrots, and shoe string potatoes.

A machine of the type with which the invention is concerned is disclosed in the patent to W. F. Christel, No. 2,150,490, iss'uedMarch 14, 1939. "In machines of this type the cans are carried around in a circle with their openings in registry with filling openings in the periphcry of a revolving table. The material i filled into the cans through a hopper positioned above the filling openings in the table and in the path of travel thereof. g

One object of the invention is to provide an improved feeding means in the hopper of a filling machine of this type to facilitate transfer of the material from the hopper to the filling openings in the revolving table.

Another object is to provide an improved screw construction in the outlet of the hopper which will speed up the discharge of material from the hopper by preventing material, like cut string beans, from clog ing the outlet.

A further object is to provide an improved wiper for removing excess material from the'container after it has been filled from the hopper.

Other objects will become apparent after the a disclosure of a machine in which the invention has been embodied.

In the drawings:

" 'Fig. 1 is a plan view of the filling machine :2'

showing the hopper mounted thereon at the left side of the view.

Fig. 2 isa section through the wiper taken as indicated by the line 2 -2 in Fig. l. v

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section through the hopper and table taken vertically along th longitudina-l axis of the feed screw, as indicated by the arrows 3'3in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the upper portion of th machine. The section is taken as indicated by the arrows I4 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the wiper taken asindicated by the arrows 5'-5 in Fig. 2.

The machine comprises a revolving table I9 (Figs. 1 and 4) having a series of filling openings arranged around it periphery. Each filling opening II has a downwardly projecting lip I2 for fitting into the open end of the can. The'centralportion E3 of the table I is depressed to form a bowl for the reception of excess material.

integrally with the table E.

'38 on the worm wheel 3|.

The table I0 is supported upon and rigidly secured to the wheel I4 having acentral protuberance I for supporting the center ofthe bowl portion I3 and having an upstandin peripheral flange I6 for supporting the peripheral portion of the table II). A feed ring IT is secured to the wheel I4 and is provided with feed fingers It. Intermediate the fingers I8 are formed arcuate openings or pockets" I9 into which the cans fit and which serve to center the cans in registry with the filling openings I I.

A stationary track comprising two spacedapart concentric rails 2|, 22 is provided for supporting the cans during their travel around with the table, the fingers I8 engaging the walls of the cans to advance the cans along the track 20. As shown in Fig. 4, the rails 2|" and 22 are mounted in fixed position by means of brackets 23' attached to the frame 24 of the machine. A circular fixed guide rail 25 is supported on brackets 26 concentric with the table I!) to retain the cansin the arcuate openings I9 of the feed rin The wheel I4 to' which thetable I6 andfeed ring I! are secured is supported on a' vertical shaft 21 (Fig. 4), the upper end of which is received in the bore of' the hub 28 of the wheel It. The lower end of the hub 28 bears against a collar 29'secured to the shaft 21 by a pin 3!). The shaft 21 is supported by a worm wheel 3|, into the hub 32 of which the shaft 21 i threaded. The worm wheel 3| is s upported in a bearing 33 mounted in the central portion 34 of the machine framework 24. 1

In order to transmit rotation from the worm wheel 3| to the Wheel I4 the latter is provided with plunger rods 35 securedin bosses 36 formed The rods 35 slidably engage bore 31 formed in upstanding bosses A set screw 39 is threaded through the hub 32 of the worm wheel and bears against the shaft 21 to lock the worm wheel and shaft togetherin any adjusted position. The threaded shaft 21 is rotated toraise and lower the table I0 with respect to the track 20 in order to enable the machine to accommodate can of different height. Rotation of the worm wheel 3i is transmitted through the rods 35 to the Wheel I4 so that th tabl I 9 rotates in unison with the worm wheel 3 I The means for driving the worm wheel 3! is shown in phantom in Fig. 1. The worm wheel 3| is driven by a worm M3 on a shaft iI which'is driven from a power shaft 42 by bevel gears 43. The outer end of the power shaft 42 has a pulley 44 adapted to be driven from a source of power not shown.

Suitable means of well-known construction are provided for feeding the cansinto the machine and for discharging them therefrom. The feeding means comprises a rotary disc 50 on which the empty cans are deposited. A stationary guide 5| is positioned above the disc to direct the cans toward the feed ring IT. A spring-pressed pivoted arm device 52 admits the cans one by one to the pockets [9 and the fingers l8 transfer the cans from the disc to the track 29. The beginning of the guide rail 25 projects over the disc to guide the cans into the pockets I9 and retain them therein. The cans are thus carried around in registry with the filling'openings ll.

After the cans are filled, by mechanism presently to be described, they are deposited on a rotary discharge disc 53. The ends 54 and 55 of the track and guide rail project out over the disc 53. The fingers-l8 move. the ca nsioif the end of the track onto the disc. A stationary rake 56 projects under the feed ring I! to intercept the cans and remove them from the pockets I9. An arcuate portion 51 of the rake directs the filled cans aroutnd in the direction of rotation of the discharge disc 53.

A supply of the material tobe filled in the cans is contained in a feed hopper ,60. (Fig. 1) which comprises a sheet-metal funnel-shaped portion '6! (Figs. 3 and 4) mounted on a base casting 62. The inner wall 63 (Fig. 4) and the end wall 64 (Fig. 3) of the hopper are substantially vertical. The outer wall 65 (Fig. 4) and the end wall 66 (Fig. 3) are' inclined. The discharge outlet of the hopperis an opening 61 formed in the base 62. The opening 61 (Figs. 1 and 3) is elongated and the-hopper is mounted on the machine in a; position where the filling openings II will move under the opening as the table l0 revolves in the direction of the arrow placed thereon in Fig. 1, and will remain in registry with the opening during the whole time they are under the hopper by reason of the elongated conformation of the; opening 61. The hopper 60 (Fig; 4) is supported in the required position above the revolving table III by means of two posts 68, one of which appears in'Fig. 4, which are secured at their upper ends in the hopper base 62' and which project down through holes in a bracket 69 secured to the machine frame 24. The hopper is lowered until the base 62 just clears the table l9, then theset screws 69' are tightened to hold the posts 68 in place.

A' feeding means is disposed in the bottom of the hopper 60 above the'hopper outlet'fi'l to aid the discharge of material down through the filling openings l l into the cans :positioned therebeneath. The feeding means 10 .comprises a shaft Tl journaled in bearings l2, 13 (Fig. 3) in the base casting 62. The shaftll 'ha a screw thread 14 thereon, the outside diameter of which gradually diminishes from right to left in Fig. 3, or in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the cans which isindicated by the arrow 15. One end of the shaft H is connected to the shaft 4| (Fig. 1) by a flexible drive 16 which rotates the shaft ll-to cause the screw thread 14 to feed the material to the left in Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrow l1.

The screw thread 14 at the maximum diameter end merges into a disc 18 (Fig. 3). At the minimum diameter end it merges into the body of the shaft H and terminates at 19. The terminus'l9 of the thread is located at a distance, amounting to substantially the diameter of the filling opening II, from the left end of the hopper in Fig. 3, and at the margin of a zone in the hopper where the material descends vertically into the can. This zone 80 is bounded by the left end wall 6'6 of the hopper and the imaginary margin of the other side of the zone is indicated by the dot-and-dash line 8|. Situated intermediate the end wallof the hopper and the terminus 19 of the screw thread in the zone 80 is a rotary feeder 82, comprising a pin secured transversely in the shaft H with its ends 83, 84 extending radially therefrom.

The operation of the feeding means 10 in the bottom of the hopper 50 is as follows: The cans .85, '86, 81 (Fig. 3) are being slid along the stationary track 20 in the direction of the arrow 15 by the. fingers I8 of the feed ring IT. The table I0 is moving in unison with the feed ring ll so that'the filling openings H are over the cans.

The rilling opening II over the can 85 has just come into communication with the discharge outlet 61 of the hopper. The material in the vertical feed zone 80 above the can 85 immediately moves downwardly. The can is rapidly filled at this point by reason of the fact that the material in the zone 80 has a direct vertical passage, unobstructed except for the shaft 1|, as best illustrated in Fig. 1.- The material descends rapidly in this zone not only because of the direct gravity path available and the weight of the material, but also because of the accelerating action of the rotary feeder 82. v The screw thread 14 insures rapid replacement of discharged material and continuous supply of material at this point by feeding the material in the direction of the arrow l! into the zone 80, where it i fed downwardly, by the rotary feeder 82. The latter also prevents clogging although the tendency of the screw thread to pack material, like cut string beans, against the end wall of the hopper is practically avoided by terminating the screw thread at a distance from-the end wall of the hopper. As pointed out above, this distance is preferably substantained in the hopper. However, it has been found that the can is more quickly and completely filled by the employment of the feeding means 10 which firstprovides arelatively unobstructed vertical passage in the zone 80, aiding the vertical feeding at that initial point by the rotary feeder 82, and which then completes the filling by moving the material transversely over the table with the screw thread 14.

When the filling opening emerges from under the hopper the can isfilled to the top with the material and the filling opening itself contains some material. To remove the excess material a rotary wiper (Figs. 1, 2, and 5) is provided which comprises three flexible blades 9| mounted radially on ashaft 92 supported for rotation in a bracket 93. The wiper shaft 92 is driven from the hopper feed shaft H by means ofbevel gears 94 and S5. The wiper blades 9I have tongues 96 which dip into the filling Openings II as they pass under the wiper to remove the excess material which i swept into the bowl I3in the center of the table.

The wiper bracket 93 is supported on two vertical posts 91, 98 (Fig. 1) from a bracket 99 (Fig. 2) secured to the frame of the machine. The upper ends of the posts 91, 98 are'rig'idly secured in the bracket 93, while the lower ends are slidable in the bracket 99 to permit vertical adjustment of the wiper. The adjustmentis retained by set screws (not shown) which are threaded through the bracket 99 and bear against the posts 91, 98. The wiper is vertically adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 5 where the tongue 95 will project down into the filling opening II and the remainder of the blade will sweep over the top of the table It as at I90 and IIII.

The wiper blades 9| (Fig. 2) are constructed I of a flexible material, such as linen belting, and are attached to radial fins I03 formed on a sleeve Hi4 which is secured to the shaft 92. The shaft 52 (Fig. 1) is supported for rotation with respect to the table Ill so that the axis of rotation will lie on a chord of the circleof movement of the filling openings. The tongues 96 (Figs. 1 and 5) are staggered on a helix around the shaft 92. .The tongues areso arranged that due to the relative speed of rotation of the wiper shaft 92 and the rate of movement of the filling openings, the three tongues 96 will successively dip into each and the same filling opening II as it passes under the wiper. The wiper rotates in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 2) to sweep the excess material toward the center of the table II] where it collects in the bowl I3.

Thereafter, the cans may be subjected to a packer-briner wheel I95 (Figs. 1 and 4:), comprising a Wheel having hollow spokes Iilfi terminating in presser heads G1. The hub I98 of the wheel is rotatable on a hollow axle I69 supported in a bracket III! with its axis inclined to the axis of the table II). A port III communicates with each spoke when its presser head is disposed within the filling opening II. Brine, or syrup, is supplied to the interior of the axle I99 by a pipe II2 (Fig. 1). As the table Ill rotates, the presser'heads .IBI project down into the filling openings, packing the material down into the can and. injecting the fluid.-. The packer wheel I05 is rotated by the table by engagement of the presser heads withthe filling openings I I.

The operation is as follows: The empty cans are deposited on the feed disc 59 (Fig. l) which I introduces them into the pockets I9 of the feed ring H which carries them onto the track Zil. The guide rail 25 retains the cans in the pockets I9 so that they will register with the filling openings II in the table Ill. When each filling opening comes under the outlet 61 of the hopper 66 material descends rapidly into the can. The filling of thecan is completed as the filling opening travels along under the elongated outlet 91, the screw thread I4 aiding in moving the material along the table into the can.

Excess material is removed from the can, the filling opening, and the top of the table by the wiper 98, the revolvingblades of the wiper dipping into the filling openings with their tongues 93. The material is then packed down in the can by the packer wheel I95 which automatically adds the desired fluid to each can. Finally the cans are removed from the machine by the rotary discharge disc 53 and the rake 56.

1 While I have described a particular embodiment of the present invention, it will be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details thereof without departin from the spirit of the present invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention and in what manner the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for filling containers, such as cans or the like, with material, having means for conveying the can in registry with a traveling circular filling, opening, a hopper having an elongated outlet in its bottom disposed above and extending in the direction of the path of said filling opening whereby material may gravitate from the hopper through said outlet and filling opening, said outlet being of greater length than the diameter of said filling opening whereby the filling opening travels for a distance in receiving relation to said outlet and material feedin means in said hopper to facilitate transfer of the material from said hopper through said filling opening into the can, comprising screw means to feed the material in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the can, the discharge end of said screw means being located at a distance from the end of said elongated outlet first passed under by said filling opening, said distance being substantially equal to the diameter of said filling opening.

2. In amachine for filling containers, such as cans or the like, with material, having means for conveying the can in registry with a traveling filling opening, a hopper having an elongated outlet of greater length than thewidth of the filling opening, disposed above the path of said filling opening whereby the latter travels for a distance in receiving relation with said outlet, material feeding means in said hopperto facilitate transfer of the material from said hopper through said filling opening into the can, comprising a rotatable shaft in said outlet disposed parallel to the plane of said filling opening, 'a screw thread on said shaft extending from one end of said outlet to apoint spaced apart from the other end of said outlet a distance substantially the width of said filling opening, and a pin in said shaft disposed transversely thereto with its ends projecting therefrom, said pinbeing located in the space between the end of said thread and the end of said outlet remote from said thread.

3. In a machine for filling containers, such as cans and the like, with material, having a rotary table provided with'filling openings around its periphery'in a circle, means for conveying thecans in registry with said openings, means for filling the cans with material, and means for removing excess material from the cans, comprising a rotary shaft having a plurality of blades, said shaft lying in the planes of said blades, said blades radiating from said shaft, said shaft being disposed parallel to a chord of the circle of said filling openings which chord has a length substantially equal to the length of the blades.

4. Ina machine for filling containers, such as cans and the like, with material, having a rotary table provided with filling openings around its periphery in a circle, means for conveying the cans in registry with said openings, means for filling the cans with material, and means for removing excess material from' the cans, comprising a rotaryshaft having a plurality of'blades.

blades radiating from said shaft lying in the filling the cans with material, and means for removing excess material from the cans, comprising a rotary shaft having a plurality of blades,

said shaft lying in the planes of said blades, said blades radiating from said shaft, said shaft being disposed parallel to a chord of the circle of said filling openings, and a tongue on each blade disposed in the plane of said blade and adapted to dip down into the can and remove excess material therefrom.

6. In a machine for fillingcontainers, such as cans and the like, with material, having a rotary table provided withfilling openings around its periphery in a circle, means for conveying the cans in registry with said openings, means for filling the cans with material, and means for removing excess material from the cans, comprising a rotary shaft having a plurality of blades, said planes of said blades, said shaft lying in the blades radiating from said shaft, said shaft being disposed parallel to a chord of the circle of said filling openings, and a tongue on each blade disposed in the plane of said blade and adapted to dip down into the can and remove excess material therefrom, said tongues being arranged in a helix around said shaft.

7. In a machine for filling containers, such as cans and the like, with material, having a rotary table provided with filling openings around its periphery in a circle, means for conveying the cans in registry with said openings, means for filling the cans with material, and means for removing excess material from the cans, comprising a rotary shaft having a plurality of blades,

said shaftlying in the planes of said blades, said blades radiating from said shaft, said shaft being disposed parallel to a chord of the circle ofsaid filling openings, a tongue on each blade disposed in the plane of said blade and adapted to dip down into the can and remove excess material therefrom, said tongues being arranged in a helix around said shaft, and means for rotating said shaft in timed relation with said table so that said tongues will successively enter each can as it travels under said blades.

8. In a machine for filling containers, such as cans or the like, with material, having means for conveying the can in registry with a traveling filling opening, a hopper having an elongated outletin its bottom disposed above and extending in the direction of the path'of said filling opening whereby material may gravitate from the hopper through said outlet and filling opening, said outlet being of greater length than the width of said filling opening whereby the filling opening travels for a distance in receiving relation to said outlet, and material feeding means in said hopper to facilitate transfer of the material from said hopper through said fillingopening into the can, comprising the combination of screw means tofeed the material toward one end of the elongated outlet, said screwmeans terminating a substantial distance from said end of said outlet such that it does not substantially obstruct the material feeding tate transfer of under by said filling opening,

filling opening,

whereby material may gravitate from the hopper through said outlet and filling opening, said outlet being of greater length than the width of said filling opening whereby the filling opening travels for a distance in receiving relation to said outlet,

means in said hopper to facilithe material from said hopper through said filling opening into the can, comprising the combination of a screw positioned above said hopper outlet to feed the material toward the end of the elongated outletfirst passed the threads of said screw terminating at a substantial distance from said end of said outlet, and a rotary feeder disposed over said outletin the space between the end of said screw and said end of said outlet, to accelerate the downward discharge of material into the can.

10. In a machine for filling containers, such as cans or'the like, with material, having means for conveying the can in registry with a traveling a hopper having an elongated outlet in its bottom dispOsed above whereby material may gravitate from the hopper through said outlet and filling opening, said outlet being of greater length than the Width of said filling opening whereby the filling opening travels for a distance in receiving relation to said outlet, and material feeding means in said hopper to facilitate transfer of the material from said hopper through said filling opening into the can,

comprising the combination of a screw to feed the material toward the end of the elongated outlet first passed under by said filling opening, the discharge end of said screw being located at a distance from said end of said outlet substantially the width of the filling opening.

11. In a machine for filling containers, such as cans or the like, with material, having means for conveying the can in registry with a traveling ifilling'cpening, a hopper having an elongated outto feed material down through the outlet portion adjacent said zone and through said filling opening as it travels below said portion of the outlet, the discharge end of said screw means being located at the margin of said zone such that it does not substantially obstruct the same.

12. In a machine for filling containers, such as cans or the like, with material, having means for conveying the can in registry with a traveling filling openin a hopper having an elongated outlet disposed above and extending in the direction of the path of said filling opening whereby material may gravitate from the hopper through said outlet and filling opening as the latter travels in receiving relationship with said outlet, material feeding means in said hopper to facilitate transfer of the material from said hopper through said filling opening into the can, comprising the combination of screw means positioned over said outlet to feed material into a vertical discharge zone from which zone the material may go downwardly through the portion of said hopper outlet in said zone and through said filling opening when it registers therewith and to feed material through the hopper outlet portion adjacent said zone, and through said filling opening after the latter passes said zone, the discharge end of said screw means being located at the margin of said zone such that it does not substantially obstruct the hopper outlet portion in said zone, and a rotary feeder disposed over said outlet portion in said zone to accelerate the descent of material therefrom into the can.

EDWARD G. BAUER. 

